Job 33:24

33:24 and if ¹  God ²  is gracious to him and says,

‘Spare ³  him from going down

to the place of corruption,

I have found a ransom for him,’ ⁴ 

Job 33:28

33:28 He redeemed my life ⁵ 

from going down to the place of corruption,

and my life sees the light!’

Psalms 30:3

30:3 O Lord, you pulled me ⁶  up from Sheol;

you rescued me from among those descending into the grave. ⁷ 

Psalms 30:9

30:9 “What ⁸  profit is there in taking my life, ⁹ 

in my descending into the Pit? ¹⁰ 

Can the dust of the grave ¹¹  praise you?

Can it declare your loyalty? ¹² 

Psalms 55:23

55:23 But you, O God, will bring them ¹³  down to the deep Pit. ¹⁴ 

Violent and deceitful people ¹⁵  will not live even half a normal lifespan. ¹⁶ 

But as for me, I trust in you.

Psalms 143:7

143:7 Answer me quickly, Lord!

My strength is fading. ¹⁷ 

Do not reject me, ¹⁸ 

or I will join ¹⁹  those descending into the grave. ²⁰ 

[33:24]  ¹ tn This verse seems to continue the protasis begun in the last verse, with the apodosis coming in the next verse.

[33:24]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:24]  ³ tc The verb is either taken as an anomalous form of פָּדַע (pada’, “to rescue; to redeem,” or “to exempt him”), or it is emended to some similar word, like פָּרַע (para’, “to let loose,” so Wright).

[33:24]  ⁴ sn This verse and v. 28 should be compared with Ps 49:7-9, 15 (8-10, 16 HT) where the same basic vocabulary and concepts are employed.

[33:28]  ⁵ sn See note on “him” in v. 24.

[30:3]  ⁶ tn Or “my life.”

[30:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “you kept me alive from those descending into the pit.” The Hebrew noun בוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib); the marginal reading (Qere) has, “you kept me alive so that I did not go down into the pit.”

[30:9]  ⁸ sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.

[30:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.

[30:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24; 103:4).

[30:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[30:9]  ¹² tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”

[55:23]  ¹³ tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).

[55:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).

[55:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”

[55:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”

[143:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my spirit is failing.”

[143:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “do not hide your face from me.” The idiom “hide the face” (1) can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) can carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[143:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I will be equal with.”

[143:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit; cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. See Ps 28:1.